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‘Ted’ Tops Box Office Weekend Numbers

LOS ANGELES — Moviegoers cuddled up to “Ted” in an unexpectedly impressive way over the weekend, turning a drug-loving teddy bear with a filthy mouth into a likely franchise star.

“Ted,” the first film from Seth MacFarlane of “Family Guy” fame, took in an estimated $54.1 million at North American theaters, about 35 percent higher than the loftiest prerelease predictions. To compare, the first “Hangover” film — which raked in over $467.5 million worldwide and spawned a series — took in $48 million in its first weekend in 2009, after adjusting for inflation.

Put another way, “Ted” sold more tickets in its first three days than Johnny Depp (“Dark Shadows”) and Tom Cruise (“Rock of Ages”) recently did, combined, in theirs.

The R-rated “Ted,” co-starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, is a triumph for Mr. MacFarlane. He directed “Ted,” was a writer of the screenplay and performed the titular character’s voice. It is also a crucial victory for its distributor, Universal Pictures, which released “Battleship” earlier in the summer movie season to disastrous results.

But “Ted” may mean the most to its financier, a quiet firm called Media Rights Capital. With roots stretching back to 2003, this production company — built to give directors, writers and stars more earning power and control of their projects — was starting to look like a tepid experiment. Releases like “Bruno” and “The Adjustment Bureau” were profitable in the end, but only slimly so.

“We’ve had singles and doubles, but ‘Ted’ is our first big, fat home run,” Mordecai Wiczyk, co-chairman of Media Rights, said by telephone on Saturday. “What we are trying to do has been validated, especially for partners like Universal who believed in us from the early days.”

Will “Ted” become a “Hangover”-style series?

“We’re still digesting this weekend,” Mr. Wiczyk said. When pressed, he added, “Everyone’s talking about it, and certainly we would love to do it.” A spokeswoman for Mr. MacFarlane said he was traveling on Sunday and unavailable to comment.

Photo

The title character of “Ted,” a new film directed by Seth MacFarlane.Credit
Universal Pictures

Media Rights, which is also behind David Fincher’s forthcoming “House of Cards” series for Netflix, spent about $50 million to make “Ted.” The film received a few scathing reviews, but critical notices were generally positive, and ticket buyers gave it an A-minus in exit polls.

Overall ticket sales in North America totaled $202 million for the weekend, a 3 percent increase over the same period last year, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box office data. Steven Soderbergh’s male-stripper movie, “Magic Mike,” with Channing Tatum leading an ensemble cast, finished a stronger-than-expected second, taking in about $39.2 million. Warner Brothers released “Magic Mike,” which cost just $7 million to make.

“Brave” (Walt Disney) was third, selling about $34 million in tickets, for a two-week domestic total of $131.7 million. “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection” (Lionsgate), the fifth movie in that series, placed fourth, taking in about $26.4 million, slightly above its franchise predecessor. “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” (Paramount) was fifth, selling about $11.8 million in tickets, for a four-week total of $180 million.

Notably, “Ted” has little comedic competition in the weeks ahead.

“Given that long runway, and the fact that there hasn’t been a strong comedy yet this summer — both ‘The Dictator’ and ‘That’s My Boy’ disappointed — ‘Ted’ should be a strong performer for weeks to come,” Benjamin Carlson, president of Fizziology, a company that monitors social media to advise movie studios, wrote in an e-mail.

“Ted” was born in 2006, when Mr. Wiczyk asked Mr. MacFarlane if he had movie aspirations. “Seth said, ‘Well, I have this idea that opens up like a sweet little Disney movie and then becomes about a teddy bear that snorts coke and chases hookers,’ ” Mr. Wiczyk recalled. “And I immediately closed my office door and called my business partner and said, ‘We’re greenlighting this right now.’ ”

Mr. Wiczyk was particularly excited about international potential. American comedies often fail to translate overseas, and the ones that do tend to have a single joke at their center — say, drinking too much (“The Hangover”). “Ted” does not open in most foreign markets until August or later.

Universal was Mr. Wiczyk’s first studio stop; 20th Century Fox, which produces “Family Guy,” also had an opportunity to grab the film. Fox wanted “Ted” but pushed to lower the budget; Universal got the business.

Hollywood’s attention now swings to two megawatt superhero franchises: Sony unveils “The Amazing Spider-Man” on Tuesday — advance interest has been quiet in the United States, but early ticket sales overseas are promising — and Warner finishes its Batman trilogy with “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20.

Doug Stone, president of Box Office Analyst, estimates that “The Amazing Spider-Man” should take in nearly $325 million in its domestic run, or about 13 percent less than “Spider-Man 3” in 2007, after adjusting for inflation. “The Dark Knight Rises” has a chance to surpass $500 million in North America, on par with its 2008 predecessor.

A version of this article appears in print on July 2, 2012, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: ‘Ted’ Tops Box Office Weekend Numbers. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe